German · Elementary (A2) · Chapter 1 of 12
Talking about the past
Was hast du gemacht?
Say what you did yesterday or at the weekend in German with the Perfekt, choose between haben and sein, and use time words like gestern.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Say what you did at the weekend
- Form the past participle of common verbs
- Choose haben or sein in the Perfekt
- Use time words like gestern and letzte Woche
Listen
On Monday morning in the office in Nuremberg, Laura asks her colleague Felix about his weekend. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Laura
Guten Morgen, Felix! Was hast du am Wochenende gemacht?
Good morning, Felix. What did you do at the weekend?
Felix
Ich bin nach Bamberg gefahren. Meine Eltern wohnen da.
I went to Bamberg. My parents live there.
Laura
Schön! Und was habt ihr gemacht?
Nice. And what did you do?
Felix
Am Samstag haben wir zusammen gekocht und viel gegessen.
On Saturday we cooked together and ate a lot.
Laura
Und am Sonntag?
And on Sunday?
Felix
Am Sonntag sind wir gewandert. Und du? Bist du hier geblieben?
On Sunday we went hiking. And you? Did you stay here?
Laura
Ja. Am Samstag habe ich lange geschlafen und dann eingekauft.
Yes. On Saturday I had a lie-in and then did the shopping.
Felix
Und gestern?
And yesterday?
Laura
Gestern habe ich meine Schwester getroffen. Wir sind zusammen schwimmen gegangen.
Yesterday I met my sister. We went swimming together.
Felix
Und heute fängt die Woche wieder an.
And today the week starts again.
Laura
Ja, leider. Jetzt brauche ich einen Kaffee.
Yes, unfortunately. Now I need a coffee.
Understand
The Perfekt: habe gemacht
To talk about the past in conversation, German mostly uses the Perfekt. It has two parts: a form of in second position and the past participle (like English “made” or “eaten”) at the very end: One Perfekt form covers “I cooked” and “I have cooked”.
Regular verbs make the participle with ge- + stem + -t: → . If the stem ends in -t, add -et: . Irregular verbs end in -en and often change their vowel, so learn them with the verb. In separable verbs, ge- goes between the two parts: → .
| Infinitive | Participle | Example |
|---|---|---|
haben or sein?
Most verbs use . Verbs that describe moving from one place to another use : , , (to go by car, train or bus), , . and (to stay) use too.
The form of or is the verb in second position, so it changes with the person: , . The participle at the end never changes.
| Infinitive | Participle | Example |
|---|---|---|
When? Time words for the past
is yesterday and the day before yesterday. letzt- (last) takes the same endings as and : , . With words it's : .
For “ago”, German puts in front: (two days ago). If you start the sentence with a time word, the verb still comes second:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| yesterday evening, last night | |
| the day before yesterday | |
| last Monday | |
| last week | |
| last year | |
| three days ago | |
| a week ago |
More in the grammar: The perfect tense (Perfekt)
New words
- Was hast du gemacht?What did you do? · is the past participle of
- nachto (with cities and countries) · ,
- fahrento go (by car, train or bus), to drive · , ; Perfekt:
- schönnice, lovely; beautiful
- bleibento stay · Perfekt:
- lange(for) a long time · = to have a lie-in
- gesternyesterday · = the day before yesterday
- treffento meet · , ; Perfekt:
- wiederagain
- brauchento need
- letzte Wochelast week · ,
- vor zwei Tagentwo days ago · + a time = ago
Practise
1.Which helping verb is right? “Ich ___ nach Bamberg gefahren.”
2.Complete with the past participle of .
What did you do yesterday?
3.Complete with the right form of or .
We went hiking on Sunday.
4.Complete with the past participle of .
On Saturday I did the shopping.
5.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.Yesterday I met my sister.
6.Match the past participles with their meanings.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Was hast du am Wochenende gemacht?
What did you do at the weekend?
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.